Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Visiting Relatives"

L5
Zaft Military Base Solaria Delta

Sat June 7, 2379
Stardate:
57036.18

Solaria Delta built in an old resource asteroid which now serves as Zaft forward base of operations in the protection of the Plants. Today the base is undergoing a refit of new and advance technology compliments of the Federation.

The New technology have been a great help to them such as gravity plating, shields and subspace sensors, advance fusion reactors and subspace communication systems and even replicators.

The federation has been most generous to the Plants and the CEA in the sharing of knowledge and resources that they felt a bit overwhelmed in their kindness.

For Starfleet, what assistance they have given is a necessity to help the people from the Cosmic Era, ease their transition as they are about to join a vast galactic community not just Earth but hundreds of worlds.

Though not everyone is enthusiastic in exploring the new era, for some seems to want something else that they started acting like Malcontents in their own country. Federation Psychologist, who watches the reaction of many people thru their entertainment (TV) and internet, believes that it's a reaction of shock and fear from the sudden change of the environment around them.

-0-

GODWANNA Battlegroup Commander Yzak Jule and second in command Dearka Elmsman is at the base cafeteria drinking fresh (replicated) fruit juices while reading a news report from back home on his Laptop.

For a month now Zaft forces have been doing nothing but helping Starfleet clear the debris field from the billions of tons of wreckage around Earth space. Today however, they have special orders, to chauffer a Starfleet officer back to the Plants as requested by Starfleet command for officers exchange program.

One member of the officer exchange came late arriving and he's was headed to Solaria Delta to pick up two Zaft officers as his chauffer

Yzak team has been on the base for a few days for some R n R, the others will be returning to debris field except for them. For Yzak in a way, he prefers this somewhat boring work than the constant battles they have with the EA, and now the only battles they have to fight is boredom.

Reading some news from the Plants, it seems that there are a few people back in the colonies have the idiocy of mouthing off on about Earth, the Naturals, the Federation and Starfleet.

Troublemakers who sees the current era not to their liking.

"What a Bunch of Jerks" Dearka cursed "Did you read this crap?" he asks Yzak, swiveling the Laptop screen to him showing a news column from a Plants 'tabloid' saying that Naturals conspired with the aliens called the 'Vulcans' to annihilate the Coordinators and another column saying that the Naturals Stole the Warp Technology from them, denouncing Zefram Cochrane as Thief and a Liar.

It was nothing more than tabloid news with no leg of truth, substance or explanation of how they come to such a story or conclusion. Not everyone took this seriously but some do take every word has a grain of truth. A photo of a small crowd of demonstrators in front of the new UFP Embassy, a demonstrator showing the tabloid paper saying 'Vulcan Aliens mind controlled Neo Plant population to annihilation'

It was absolutely fiction and fabrication with no truth but some seems to believe it for one reason or another

"Not everyone likes this new world Dearka" Yzak said

True enough, not everyone found the new Earth appealing, for an Earth and a people who treats others as their equals no matter who or what they are is not what some people want.

Once upon a time, the people on Earth looks up to a new race of people called Coordinators. With envy and jealousy the 'Naturals' watch them as they have done such marvelous achievements because of what and who they are, which to some Coordinators, enjoyed that kind of attention of being special, of being important than thou.

As though they were God's anointed people for they are the future of humanity…so claimed by some.

But whether the tabloid column was true or not, this was mostly true to some Coordinators as they savor the thought of the Naturals trying so hard to play catch up with them. They enjoyed the thought that, for no matter how hard the Naturals try, they can never equal or surpass them, for Coordinators by their own beliefs, are a step ahead of them, and they looks down on the struggling natural with hidden glee.

Then suddenly, in a blink of an eye, everything changes; Earth and her people stop envying and stop being jealous at them, they see them but sees them only as people, nothing more, nothing less…

Now, the Coordinators are the one's looking up towards Earth and her people with envy and jealousy this time. For 3 centuries the Naturals have done great and remarkable things on their own, achieving great deeds, discovering new things and new people in a vast interstellar community of worlds as they boldly explore the stars and beyond.

They see the Earth and see the Naturals bragging to them,

'Look at us, look at what we have achieve on our own...without you,'

'We did all of this and more, we don't need to have our genes altered to do great things'

'Boldly we go to where no Man has gone before'

For many it does felt that way for them, but that's the truth, Earth today is different, grown and matured enough that they are a different people and they see coordinators only as curios people. They See a race of people that belong 300 years in the past, they look at them without the eyes of envy, jealousy, discrimination or hate that Naturals once give them, worst of all, they look at them unimpressed.

For 300 years Earth is in a road of learning about the universe which gave humanity a better far broader perspective of the universe, the lessons of the past is still being taught as to help them avoid repeating mistakes as much as they could. With the worst of themselves gone, the best of themselves made a difference.

This change of attitude took 300 years and it is a change that few people in the Plants do not like.

Coordinators, a small few of them are in a disquieting feeling in the absence of being hated, envied, and feared. Being discriminated against is something they needed like an addiction, they search for it, though cruel and unjust as it was those things, would make many very sad but, but some made them see themselves as…being important, for they are taught and told that they represent the future of humanity, the next evolution, or so they are led to believe.

The Naturals mistreatment to Coordinators show how much of a barbarian naturals are, no longer evolving and at the end of the line. They will never amount to anything anymore other than being violent for their growth and development have been retarded, stagnated to much that they can no longer move forward unlike coordinators.

None of what was told of them is true

The Truth is that the Naturals of Earth today are not stagnated; they are still growing and developing as they continue to push beyond the limit of their potentials and everything around them is proof of that growth. For those coordinators, what they see is unacceptable

-0-

"What's not to like about this Era, Yzak?" he question "I mean come on, we finally have peace and that the people on Earth don't look at us badly, not like back at our own time,"

"You can't please everyone Dearka" Yzak said "not everyone in the Plants like the idea of an Earth, a very advance Earth full of Naturals that no longer look us badly nor do they care if we are coordinators or not" he leans back on his seat

"Alot of people in the Plants like things the way they were back THEN, not the way they are right NOW"

"In other words, they're envied and jealous of what the Naturals have achieved for the past 300 years, and now these idiots are accusing the Naturals for causing the demise of the Neo Plant Colony which they didn't and then accusing Zefram Cochrane, the father of Warp Drive a fraud" Dearka felt disgusted at the attitude of some of his countrymen for they are acting like jealous naturals once were.

A reverse of attitude that Yzak and Dearka would never think it would happen, and even if the Plants have become as advanced as Earth they won't act envious as they once were, they won't care and won't matter to the day to day life in the Federation.

As the two talks about the news from the Plants, a Starfleet officers walks casually towards their table and He introduces himself to them.

"Excuse me, Commander Yzak Jule, Sir"

The two look at the person who step towards their table, they were wide eyes on the person they see before them. A Starfleet officer brown hair, about their height with emerald eyes, but what made them stare at him is his face, a curiously familiar face of a friend and fellow comrade.

"Uhh, y-yes?" Yzak spoke up as he broke from his stare

"My name is Lt. Nicolas Shepherd, I'm from the officers exchange program, and I am here to report to you Sir"

"Officer Exchange? Oh yeah, I remember" he stood up and shake his hand in greeting "This is my second in command Lt. Cmdr. Dearka Elmsman,"

"Hi" Dearka greeted "Please sit" he offered

"Thank you"

"And welcome to Solaria Delta Lt. Shepherd" the two couldn't help but stare at the familiar face

"Forgive me for staring but, you do look like someone we know" Yzak said

"I understand" Nicolas nodded

"Well, so Lt Shepherd, what's your specialty?" Dearka ask

"My specialty is Xenoanthropologist Sir"

"Xeno-what" Yzak is a unfamiliar of that term

"It's the study of alien cultures" Nicolas answered

"Oh, so you study alien cultures?"

"Yes"

"That's a strange specialty for a soldier" Dearka said curious

"Not for Starfleet Sir," Nicolas replied

"Though Starfleet did start as the military arm for the former United Nations of Earth when the Earth Alliance ended it's charter, Starfleet role evolves thru the years according to the needs of federation, we are a multifunction multi-mission role organization, being a soldier is just one part of Starfleet role, but most of our time is focused on Science and Space Exploration" he said explaining

"So when you're not being soldiers, you're being what, scientist?" Dearka query

"Scientist, explorers, engineers, doctors, lawyers, and more we are what you called a multitasking organization" Nicolas smiled

The three had quite a long conversation with each other and they are quite relaxed as Nicolas tells about his life in Starfleet while they head to the Hanger bay to an awaiting Fed Shuttle.

While heading for the Plants, they had a little conversation

Nicolas A. Shepherd follows the footsteps of his father who is a captain and his mother an engineer in Galaxy class starship that's exploring the Beta Herculis sector. Even more surprising is that Nicolas wasn't born on Earth, but on a Planet called Terra Nova.

"So, you weren't born on Earth?" Dearka asks curious

"No, Terra Nova is eleven light years from Earth, my family ancestry migrated to Terra Nova 100 years ago, but before that we live on Jupiter 3 colony group"

"Your family once lived on Jupiter 3 Colony Group; does that mean your families were once Coordinators I heard that there are alot of people from the Neo Plant immigrated there?"

"Yes, my families were coordinators when the colonies were built in 2105. Most of them citizens of the Neo Plants lived and work there when they abandoned the Venus colony." Nicolas told them

-o-

The Jupiter Colony Group are comprised of a number of different type of space colonies ranging from O'Neill type habitats to the Plant type colonies, were primarily designed for mineral refinement and production of food for the growing population of colonist and miners across the system.

After the 3rd Bloody Valentine War, a number of coordinators resettled on Jupiter colony. Nicolas then gave a surprising revelation

"Truth is, there were already Coordinators working to build the colony even before the war, those who have decided to live on Earth was contracted from the old UNE to build agricultural type colonies using the Hour glass type design"

"I see" Yzak nodded then he had a curious question he ask

"Say Lt Shepherd, I was just wondering" Yzak said "Do you have any relatives on the Plants? I mean the original I mean"

Nicolas look back and then put the shuttle on autopilot before he face them

"Well, I don't know if…let just say…my ancestors believe that he has families in the Plants, It's kinda complicated and I need to confirm some information that I brought along"

"Information, what sort of information?"

"Well, ever since the end of the second Eugenic wars, I mean The Bloody Valentine's Wars, Families on Earth keeps a close detail on family lineage, my family descendent from coordinators from the Plants but I don't know if the Information I have correspond to what they know of people that was on Earth for most of the data were lost during the war"

"So you need to confirm if they know the person?" Yzak ask

"Yes, that is correct"

"I have some artifacts from my family, personal belongings and DNA lineage tracing, see if there is a match"

In Nicolas Suitcase and in a smaller case, carefully preserved music sheets that, looks old and worn, very old and on the edge of the music sheet, are two letters of a names initial

N.S. (Nicol Amalfi)

Perch on a an asteroid watching the shuttle heads for the Plants is 'Q Junior' and he watch one of many descendant of one of the many persons he rescued back at the Cosmic Era with the watchful eyes of his father 'Q'

The temporal instability at that time was centered on Cosmic Era and everything was falling apart from the seam. While the others try to stabilize the temporal field in order to save the universe even if it means loosing the timeline. Q Junior was running around the CE watching humanity kill each other, during which he found a ship worth watching.

The 'Archangel'

In his observation he grew strangely attached to lives of crew, he rescued several people supposedly killed at that time without the others knowing that they survived. Q Senior put a stop that, but his actions unknowingly became part of the restoration of the timeline which is something unexpected.

Now one of their descendants is on the shuttle and he's going to the Plants to look for relatives, how they will greet him he wonders

The shuttle travel to the Plants was quite short for where a Nazca could take a couple of days travel just to cover the distance now takes only a few minutes for 24th Century Shuttle.

Later when they are on Aprillius One, Yzak and Dearka brought Nicolas to the New Federation Embassy and there several Plants officials, businessmen and others from the CEA is talking with a number of diplomats and ambassadors from hundreds of worlds in the federation.

One group of people Yzak recognized, are Athrun Zala and Col.Andrew Waltfeld and they represent the diplomatic group for the CEA. They meet up and greeted each other and then they explained their coming here.

"The Klingons?"

"Lacus got a call from President Kovic, and she told us that a Diplomatic group from the Klingon Empire will be arriving here shortly" Athrun explained

"Say Nicolas," Yzak turns to Nicolas and asks "What are these Klingons are really like?"

"Well, let's just say," Nicolas thought of comparison from earth past "They are like the Spartans of Ancient Greece, they are warlike, they value honor and a glorious death in battle is something they strive on achieving. They have a motto 'Today is a good day to die'"

"Have you met any Klingons?" Athrun ask the Lt. who looks like their friend Nicol. Nicolas nodded

"Four years ago during the final days of the Dominion War, I was an ensign assigned to the Imperial Klingon Ship Rotarran as a medic…"Nicolas remembered his time there, especially the food delicacies he wanted to really, really forget because remembering them is making his stomach growl in pain for Klingon food (when they are still alive) never agrees with his stomach and he himself needed a medic afterwards.

"Nicolas?" Dearka wondered about the long pause and the strange look in his face. Then Nicolas told them a suggestion

"Word of advice and for your sake you take it," he said "When Klingons offers you gagh, eat it properly, otherwise…they'll eat you. Excuse me, I need to report to the ambassador" he said

He left them with a confused look

"What's a gagh?" Dearka ask curious

To Be Continued